Banana Republic is owned by Gap Inc., which also owns Gap, Old Navy, and Athleta. For more details on Gap Inc.’s social and environmental commitments, see the Remake Brand Directory.

#PAYUP

7-11-20 – Gap Inc. (Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic) cancelled some orders and imposed discounts on others at the start of the pandemic. But after months of pressure from the #PayUp campaign, Gap Inc. has agreed to #PayUp, paying for all orders completed and in-process at the start of the pandemic in full. Though the company is extending payment times, Gap Inc. granted low-cost financing to suppliers to ease this burden.

KEEP WORKERS SAFE

The Keep Workers Safe demand requires brands to ensure their garment workers’ financial and economic safety during the pandemic by signing onto the Severance Guarantee Fund, which creates a social safety net for laid-off workers; by contributing to direct relief for garment workers; and by protecting human rights, democracy, and the right to organize. It’s estimated the cost to ensure a social safety net for garment workers is just $.10 cents more per garment. And yet Gap Inc. made no additional efforts to Keep Workers Safe during the pandemic, earning the brand a “NO” for Keep Workers Safe.

2-3-21 – Gap Inc. (Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic) has failed to Keep Workers Safe. The brand has not signed onto the Severance Guarantee Fund and has not contributed 1% of its net revenue to direct relief. In fact, it’s unclear what if anything Gap Inc. has donated to garment workers. Like many other large American brands, Gap Inc. is a signatory to the UAID MOU, which promises to “pursue much-needed relief” for female garment workers in Asia. To date, the USAID MOU has released no money and is a woefully inadequate response to this crisis. 

GO TRANSPARENT

GAP Inc. publicly discloses all of its Tier 1 suppliers – its cut and sew factories – and is close to aligning with its commitment to the Transparency Pledge. For this progress, it earns a yellow slash.

To receive a “YES” for Action 3 on the PayUp Fashion Tracker, it must be in full compliance with the The Transparency Pledge and additionally disclose its tier 2 (fabric mills), tier 3 (yarn and fiber mills) and tier 4 (raw materials) suppliers; disclose the wages of the lowest-earning workers at each factory and share audit and remediation reports publicly, and make these findings available to the garment workers in the audited factories.

SIGN ENFORCEABLE CONTRACTS

The Accord

Gap Inc. has yet to sign the new International Accord on workplace safety. The International Accord is a binding agreement that is instrumental in creating safe, fire-and-hazard-proof workplaces for garment workers. It was devised in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, in which 1,134 garment makers were crushed to death in a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. Today, the Accord is the industry standard for workplace safety agreements, with more than 150 brand signatories as of December of 2021. Gap Inc.’s lack of concern for the lives of its makers is disturbing, earning it a “NO” for Sign Enforceable Agreements.

HELP PASS LAWS

The Garment Worker Protection Act

Gap Inc. is on the Officers and Executive Committee of the the California’s Retailer Association, a trade association that lobbied against California’s Garment Worker Protection Act (SB62), a landmark bill that passed despite corporate opposition in 2021 and that aims to end wage theft in garment factories by holding brands jointly accountable. Our expectation is that companies will support and not lobby against laws like SB62 that strengthen brand accountability, earning Gap Inc. a “NO” for Help Pass Laws.